Cat in the Hat Play Dough Mats and Puzzle Craft!

Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat Activities for Preschool!

Celebrate Read Across America Day (or ANY Day) with some FUN Cat in the Hat Activities for Preschool!  Read The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss and then try some extension activities to accompany the book!

Cat in the Hat CVC Words Playdough Mat – Cat in the Hat CVC Playdough Mat 

Materials needed:  Black, Red, or White homemade or commercial play dough, and 1 playdough mat (file linked above) per student.

Print the play dough mat for the children.  Read each of the words to the children first, then allow the children to try independently.  Remind the children that the words belong to the same word family (the -at family) and that they are rhyming words.  Once the children adapt to changing the BEGINNING letter sound, word families are FUN!  We sing “made up” silly songs to get the children into the habit of changing the beginning letter to form new rhyming words.  Make a play dough center where the children can use the dough to create the -at words on the play dough mat.   Younger children can use rubber letter stamps or plastic letters to “stamp” the play dough, if desired.

Extra Activity:  Print several copies of the -at word cards.  Have the children cut out the cards (assist younger children) and use the cards to play a “memory” style game.  Place all the cards face down on a table or the floor.  Have the children pick up two cards at a time. If the word cards match, the children may keep the pair.  If they do not, the cards are turned face down again and another player takes a turn.  Play continues until all word cards are matched.

Dr. Seuss Play Dough Math Mats – Dr. Seuss Math Play Dough Mat

Materials needed:  1 copy of the math mat (linked above) for each child and red, white, or black play dough (homemade or commercial).

Print the math mats for each student.  Have the children make play dough balls (or any shape desired) to match the number indicated by the Dr. Seuss card.  This math mat works solely with the numbers 10-20, but additional cards can be made from index cards to represent any number the children may be working on.

Additional activity:  Make index cards with basic shapes or lines on them.  Have the children use the play dough to try and make the shape or line that is represented on the card.

 

Dr. Seuss Recycled Puzzle Craft

Materials needed:  blank puzzle pieces (or save those puzzles that have lost pieces over the years), red, black, and white tempera paint, craft eyes, black markers, liquid glue, white heavy paper (for mounting), and red ribbon – one strip per student to make a bow tie (many dollar stores often sell felt ribbon and bows that are great for this project.)

Have the children paint 4 puzzles pieces black, 9 puzzles pieces white, and 6 puzzle pieces red.  Have the children put 4-6 puzzle pieces together and paint them white (to use for the cat’s face).  Let all the pieces thoroughly dry (preferably overnight) before putting your craft together.  We painted ours in the morning and they were still not ready to handle by the afternoon.

Give each child a piece of white paper to assemble the cat.  Place the pieces for the cat’s face near the bottom of the paper and glue into place.  On top of the cat’s face, have the children glue the 4 black puzzle pieces in a horizontal line.  On top of the black pieces, have the children alternate making rows of 3 red and white puzzle pieces for the cat’s hat.

The children can glue craft eyes on the cat’s face and make facial features/whiskers, if desired.  Assist the children in making a bow with their ribbons (or do prior to the activity) and have the children glue the bows below the cat’s face.  Let the project dry overnight before transporting home (if doing the project in the classroom).

Extra Activity:  Paint several “extra” puzzle pieces and make a center or tray for the children to play with.  Lining up/stacking the pieces is a great activity to enhance fine motor skills!